The European Union’s Role in the fight against terrorism
Sofia, May 13, 2004
I welcome the opportunity to talk to you to day about the challenges facing us all in countering terrorism, what the EU is doing to meet these challenges.
Terrorism is a direct attack on the very foundations of civilisation. Terrorists attack fundamental human rights: the right to life, the right to a live lived in freedom from fear. Terrorists attack the essence of democracy, which is that political differences are settled through rational deliberation and the power of the law instead of through the bullet and the bomb. Terrorists slaughter the innocent and the peaceful – men, women, even children, in direct violation of the fundamental rule of law which holds it is forbidden, always and everywhere, to kill or maim civilians, noncombatants. This is why there is no justification, whether political, religious, or otherwise, for terrorism. Terrorism, the willful execution of civilians, is as illegal as it is immoral.
To combat terrorism is to defend human rights. We must do so with vigour and determination. But we must also take care to select only those instruments that are compatible with the rule of law. The terrorist’s aim is to divide cultures. Their objective is to strike people with fear and to provoke governments into counter-measures that undermine the values on which free societies are based. We must not let that happen. In defending our societies against terrorism we must make sure not to compromise the values which terrorists seek to destroy. We must protect our security – but in doing so we must be equally determined to preserve our liberties.
Terrorism is a serious threat to international peace and security. That is why combating terrorism is a crucial task of the United Nations. A series of UN Security Council Resolutions and Conventions have given us a platform to take forward the fight against terrorism. All Member States of the UN must work together to ensure their effective implementation.
I will return later to what we can do together in the UN framework but let me first say a few words about what the EU is doing to combat terrorism. Since 2001 EU Member States have adopted a wide range of policies to defend themselves against terrorism. Part of their response has involved strengthening the role of the European Union. The Council has adopted important legislative measures and policies to facilitate cross-border cooperation by national law enforcement authorities and intelligence agencies. In June 2004 the European Council adopted a Plan of Action containing well over 100 initiatives to be taken during the Dutch, Luxembourg and British Presidencies, taking us up to the end of 2005.
Working increasingly together Europe’s law enforcement and security agencies have been successful in preventing several terrorist attacks in Europe over the past few years. French and German authorities, for example, were able to prevent a major attack in Strasbourg; terrorists suspects were tried and convicted in both countries. In Belgium a terrorist has been convicted for preparing an attack on a NATO air base. France and Spain have jointly dealt a major blow to the capacity of ETA to carry out terrorist attacks.
World-wide, Al Qaida has been weakened. It has not, however, been defeated. The threat of terrorism remains real and serious, in Europe as in other parts of the world. This is why the EU is determined to intensify its efforts to combat terrorism. EU Ministers have identified several priority areas to be addressed in 2005. These include information sharing and law enforcement cooperation, combating terrorist financing, civil protection and protection of critical infrastructure, mainstreaming counter-terrorism in the EU’s external relations, and addressing the causes of radicalization and recruitment which lie at the heart of terrorist activity. During this year, under the Luxembourg and British Presidencies, Ministers will be presented with proposals in each of these areas. I would like now to say something about these priorities.
Exchange of Information
Timely and accurate information – its collection, analysis and dissemination – is essential to prevent acts of terrorism and to bring terrorist suspects to justice. Progress is being made in implementing the decisions of the Council to improve the exchange of terrorism related information. Last year the Council decided to stimulate co-operation among Europe’s security and intelligence services by reinforcing the Situation Centre (SitCen) in the Council Secretariat. As a result, SitCen now provides the Council with strategic analysis of the terrorist threat based on intelligence from Member States’ security and intelligence services and, where appropriate, on information provided by Europol. Meanwhile, Europol is also strengthening its counter-terrorism task force. For its part, Europe just is playing an increasingly prominent role in helping national prosecutors and investigating judges to co-operate across borders.
In the Hague Programme on Freedom, Security and Justice adopted at the end of 2004, the Heads of State and Government called for “an innovative approach” to the cross border exchange of law enforcement information. Information should be provided according to the principle of availability, which means that a law enforcement officer who needs information in order to perform his duties can obtain this from another Member State, subject to certain conditions. The Commission has been invited to submit proposals before the end of 2005 to implement this availability principle. The Commission has also been asked to submit a range of proposals aimed at simplifying the exchange of information and intelligence between law enforcement agencies, including the enhanced inter-operability of European databases. Simultaneously, Europe’s data protection rules will have to be strengthened.
Terrorism Financing
Terrorists need money to prepare and carry out attacks. Identifying and disrupting the mechanisms through which terrorism is funded are therefore key elements of the Union’s counter-terrorism strategy. In accordance with resolutions adopted by the Security Council, the Union has established lists of individuals and groups designated as being involved in terrorist acts whose assets must be frozen. But as a result of increased attention from world authorities, terrorist funds are now being moved outside the regular banking system. The EU has therefore set as a priority the adoption of regulations aimed at preventing alternative systems of cash movement being used for terrorist purposes.
Civil Protection and the Protection of Critical Infrastructure
Civil protection and emergency response management for the most part fall under the national competence of Member States. Nevertheless, the Heads of State and Government have declared their firm intention “to act jointly in a spirit of solidarity if one of them is the victim of a terrorist attack” and have pledged to mobilize all the instruments at their disposal, including military resources, to assist a Member State affected by such an attack. The Commission is now making proposals to protect the Union’s critical infrastructure, such as transport, energy and communications. The EU is also committed to improving its capabilities to prevent and respond to bioterrorism.
External Relations
Terrorism is a global phenomenon that requires a global response. As UN Security Council Resolution 1566 clearly states, acts of terrorism are under no circumstances justifiable by considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar nature. Although many countries increasingly work together, much remains to be done to strengthen the global alliance against terrorism.
In recognition of this fact, the EU has decided to mainstream the issue of terrorism in its relations with third countries. We will intensify the dialogue on counter-terrorism with third countries and counter-terrorism clauses will be introduced into all external agreements.
Working with the UN
Part of this emphasis on the external dimension of the fight against terror involves working with the United Nations. The UN is a key partner of the Union in this field. UN Security Council Resolutions 1267, 1373, 1540 and 1566 have considerably enhanced the role of the UN in this field. The EU is committed to ensuring that these Resolutions are effective. Furthermore, the EU is working hard to promote the universal ratification of all 12 UN Conventions in the fight against terrorism. In recent years the rate of ratification has gone up. Nevertheless, of the 191 Member States of the UN only about 60 are a party to all 12 instruments and dozens have ratified fewer than six. To improve this record is one of the objectives of the EU’s common foreign policy and security policy.
In addition to the existing 12 UN Conventions, the EU underlines the importance of ensuring the signature and ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption and welcomes the recent conclusion of discussions on the adoption of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. The EU is also keen to see the adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism. Discussions on this have not always been easy but we should use the stimulus provided by the recommendations of the UN High Level Panel on terrorism, and endorsed by the UN Secretary General in his recent speech in Madrid, to push this to a conclusion.
Another area of co-operation between the EU and UN is the provision of aid and technical assistance to countries lacking the capability to implement the common legal framework set out by UN Resolutions and Conventions. Counter-terrorism assistance is already part of the aid strategy of the EU and its Member States and the Council has resolved to further enhance the contribution of the Union. The European Council has invited the Commission to increase funding for capacitybuilding projects in third countries and to ensure that there is sufficient flexibility in the budgetary procedures to allow funds to be used imaginatively. Meanwhile, we are working closely with the CTED of the United Nations to provide assistance to third countries in the framework of UNSCR 1373. I have, for instance, recently returned from Kenya, where I joined the mission of UN Director Ruperez to assess the needs of that country in capacity building on counter-terrorism and earlier this year the EU took part in a similar mission to Morocco. Further EU expert missions are planned in June of this year, including to Morocco and Algeria, with a view to establishing where the EU can help with technical assitance. The EU is contributing billions of Euro’s to the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan.
We also fully support the work of the 1267 Committee in enforcing the sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban. We welcome the recent recommendations of the 1267 Monitoring Committee for improving the effectiveness of these sanctions and look forward to working with the UN closely on these improvements. It is important that the three areas of asset freezing, travel ban and arms embargo are properly covered, while ensuring that due process is observed because sanctions can only serve the cause for which they were set up if their implementation is consistent with the protection of human rights.
The UN and EU have similar agendas in addressing factors underlying recruitment and support for terrorism. There is general recognition that regional conflicts, bad governance and state failure can provide fertile ground for recruitment into terrorism. Efforts to resolve regional conflicts and to promote human rights and good governance are at the heart of of the EU’s counter-terrorism strategy. The EU and its Member States are already providing most of the world’s official development aid. But looking beyond this, we are seeking to engage with moderate Muslims in defence of our common commitment to a humane society, free of terrorism.
There is no such thing as a war among civilisations. Islam, like Christianity, is not a monolith. There are many strands and traditions among the one billion Muslims in the world. The overwhelming majority of them want to leave under conditions of peace and democracy, free to decide how to interpret Islam without fear of being branded apostates by Islamist terrorists. Many moderate Muslims have spoken out courageously against terrorism. Bulgarian Muslims prayed at a Sofia mosque for the release of two Bulgarian truck drivers who had been kidnapped in Iraq and were in danger of being killed by the Jordanian terrorist Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi. Millions of Muslim voters have defied terrorist death threats to take part in democratic elections, from the Palestinian territories to Afghanistan, from Iraq to Indonesia – home to the world’s largest Islamic population. But to defy terrorism is not enough to defeat it. To defeat terrorism in the name of Islam, moderate Muslims must stand up and speak out to defend their freedom, including their freedom of religion. Muslims and non-Muslims must join forces to defend the fundamental values of humanity. The European Union is determined to support and work with moderate Muslims in order to defeat terrorism, in Europe and elsewhere in the world.
Neighbourhood/Partnership instrument
In addition to the opportunities open to us to co-operate in the framework of the UN, the EU is also keen to develop regional co-operation in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy. We have agreed Action Plans with several partners to our South and to our East which contain common objectives on combating terrorism. We must now work to follow up these commitments and we hope that the proposed new financial framework, if adopted, will streamline and give overall direction to the funding of projects in this area.
Radicalization and Recruitment
We can only defeat terrorism in the long term by preventing the next generation of terrorists from emerging. To do this we need to understand the reasons which drive people, both within and outside the Union, to turn to terrorism and to devise a strategy to prevent this from happening. The EU has therefore set as one of its priorities for 2005 a study of radicalization and recruitment which will underpin recommendations on how to address the problem.
Much work has been done on this subject. Suffice it to say that it is a complex one and finding common threads, let alone the strategy to address them, will not be easy. But we are determined to carry this through. The experiences of our partners elsewhere in the world will be valuable in helping us to reach the right conclusions. Meanwhile, the EU is keen to help partners address background factors which may contribute to radicalization and recruitment in their own countries. We actively support work to improve educational systems, economic development and the quality of governance and we value the reforms that have already been undertaken in several countries.
Conclusion
In his keynote address to the International Summit in Madrid, the Secretary General of the United Nations, said that terrorism was a threat to all states and to all peoples. It was a “direct attack on the core values the United Nations stands for: the rule of law; the protection of civilians; mutual respect between people of different faiths and cultures; and peaceful resolution of conflict.”
He also set out a clear “principled, comprehensive strategy” based on the recommendations of the High Level Panel. The elements of this strategy provide a framework for action to counter the threat of terrorism on a global basis, while ensuring that human rights and the rule of law are always respected. Terrorism is a threat to the most basic values of mankind. The world must unite, across religious boundaries, to defend the principles on which humane societies are based. Together, we can, and must, defeat terrorism.
